On this page

Introduction

This page covers topics from abstract research
on games to applied technology for commercial video
game production. It aims to appeal to academic researchers and game
developers,
as well as
those who fall somewhere in between.

Video game design and production is a fast paced, hit-driven,
technology-based
field. Hardware used in game consoles and personal computers
continues to improve, getting faster and cheaper at a dizzying
pace. Video game developers start each new project with increased
computational resources, and a long list of cool features they would
like to incorporate. Since they normally work
on very tight production schedules, they have little or no time to
experiment with untested technology. Results from recent research help
to bridge that gap.

Researchers, working largely in academia and occasionally in
industry, are motivated
by exploring new technology. To be published, research must be novel: either a completely new
idea
or a significant improvement on an old idea. Commercial game
development can provide a rich stream of "...it would be nice if..."
ideas which can inspire new research projects. This focus on
novelty in the research world contrasts with the commercial
world. There, while novelty is good, what really matters is an
enjoyable, engaging experience. A sequel can be a hit while a
strikingly original game may not.

These two communities have conflicting goals and very
different
cultures. Yet a mutually
beneficial symbiotic
relation can exist between them. With luck this page may
lead to cross-fertilization and perhaps some beneficial collaborations.

What isn't here

Some aspects of game technology research are well covered
elsewhere
and will not be duplicated here. For example, all research on
computer graphics is ultimately relevant to video games. Computer
graphics is a huge field with its own excellent online
resources, such as SIGGRAPH
and its literature.
There are excellent online resources
devoted to specific aspects of computer graphics, such as Real Time Rendering and animation.
Game
design
is covered elsewhere (1,
2,
3) and mentioned here
only in
terms of technology. Other than
those broad exceptions, almost anything
available on the web about research or technology related to video
games is fair game.
Feel free to suggest
additions or corrections for this page.

Related topics of interest

The
Uncanny Valley, described by Dr. Masahiro Mori,
is a bump in
the road
toward realistic human characters. As modeling and animation of
synthetic
human characters continues to improve, eventually a boundary is
crossed. What once looked like crudely animated people now begins
to
look like
real video
of profoundly creepy people.
As suggested in the articles below, stylization
is a traditional way to avoid this troublesome Valley.